Delayed volume resuscitation during initial management of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

OBJECTIVE: In acute traumatic bleeding, permissive arterial hypotension with delayed volume resuscitation is an established lifesaving concept as abridge to surgical control. This study investigated whether preoperatively administered volume also correlated inversely with survival after ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA).

METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed prospectively collected and validated data of a consecutive cohort of patients with rAAAs (January 2001 to December 2010). Generally, fluid resuscitation was guided clinically by the patient's blood pressure and consciousness. All intravenous fluids (crystalloids, colloids, and blood products) administered before aortic clamping or endovascular sealing were abstracted from paramedic and anesthesia documentation and normalized to speed of administration (liters per hour). Logistic regression modeling, adjusted for suspected confounding covariates, was used to investigate whether total volume was independently associated with risk of death within 30 days of rAAA repair.

RESULTS: A total of 248 patients with rAAAs were analyzed, of whom 237 (96%) underwent open repair. A median of 0.91 L of total volume per hour (interquartile range, 0.54-1.50 L/h) had been administered preoperatively to these patients. The postoperative 30-day mortality rate was 15.3% (38 deaths). The preoperative rate of fluid infusion correlated with 30-day mortality after adjustment for confounding factors, and the association persisted robustly through sensitivity analyses: each additional liter per hour increased the odds of perioperative death by 1.57-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.33; P = .026).

CONCLUSIONS: Aggressive volume resuscitation of patients with rAAAs before proximal aortic control predicted an increased perioperative risk of death, which was independent of systolic blood pressure. Therefore, volume resuscitation should be delayed until surgical control of bleeding is achieved.